Chamber and committees

We are committed to openness and transparency in an NHS that welcomes all forms of feedback and uses it to inform continuous improvement. The current NHS Model Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) has been in operation across Scotland since 1 April 2017.

This revised procedure is intended to support a more consistently person-centred approach to complaints handling across NHS Scotland. It brings a much sharper focus to the early, local resolution of complaints, wherever that is appropriate.

The timescales for handling complaints, set out in the CHP, are in line with all public sector organisations’ complaints procedures in Scotland, with a distinct, five working day stage for early, local resolution, ahead of the 20-working day stage for complaint investigations. There are no plans to review the timescales.

Overall responsibility and accountability for the management of NHS complaints lies with individual Boards’ Chief Executives, Executive Directors and appropriate senior management.

The NHS Model Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) has been in operation across Scotland since 1 April 2017. The CHP introduced nine complaints performance indicators, three qualitative and six quantitative. These performance indicators are set out in The Patient Rights (Feedback, Comments, Concerns and Complaints) (Scotland) Directions 2017.

NHS Boards have a legal duty to publish their feedback and complaints reports annually and to submit these to the Scottish Ministers, Public Health Scotland, the Patient Advice and Support Service, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and, where appropriate, the Scottish Prison Service. National complaints statistics are published annually by Public Health Scotland.

In 2023-24, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s baseline budget was over £2.6 billion, in addition to that, they also receive a capital allocation of £39 million, therefore it would be for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to fund any costs associated with cleaning air conditioning systems.

The management of piping in hospitals is managed by the local NHS Board and any risk assessment would not routinely be submitted to the Scottish Government.

The management of pipes and air conditioning systems in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and it is not an area the Scottish Government would ordinarily be involved with.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have not submitted any report to the Scottish Government relating to the pipes within the air conditioning system at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

The Scottish Government do not hold any information on whether cadmium-plated pipes were water tested before the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital opened in 2015.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested, however, my letter to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee of 28 June 2023 provided an update on the health of the tourism sector drawn from indications taken from a number of reliable sources. This points to the outlook for Scotland’s tourism sector continuing to improve, with overseas visitor numbers almost recovering to pre-pandemic levels and accommodation occupancy rates increasing over the last year. While the macroeconomic environment is challenging, with the tourism sector being more greatly impacted than other sectors by staff shortages and the cost crisis that is reducing business confidence, there are also promising indications for recovery.

We want to see a thriving short-term let and self-catering sector in Scotland. I am therefore sorry to note that 766 self-catering businesses (around 4% of those registered to pay non-domestic rates) responded to the ASSC 48-hour poll in June indicating they were considering whether to leave the sector rather than apply for a short-term let licence. This regulation is leading the way in the UK, providing assurance to guests and visitors coming to Scotland that all short-term lets must now meet safety standards to operate. Responsible businesses are likely to already comply with the licensing conditions, many of which are existing legal requirements, and therefore a combination of wider factors are probably influencing numbers deciding to leave as well as invest in this sector. We will continue to work with stakeholders and monitor trends, as part of actions linked to our Scotland’s Outlook 2030 Strategy. We’ve also separately committed to provide implementation updates on licensing and, in 2024, will update the short-term let regulation business regulatory impact assessment.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20107 on 8 August 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The following table outlines the opening dates set out in the 2020 NHS Recovery Plan and the current projected opening dates for National Treatment Centres without approved Full Business Cases:

This information is available in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26: major capital projects progress update - March 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) the Scottish Government published on 20 June 2023. The plan outlines the progress and current projected costs of NTC Fife as well NTC Golden Jubilee Phase 2, NTC Grampian, NTC Lothian, NTC Highland, NTC Forth Valley and NTC Ayrshire and Arran.